Tiny Titans
by Splinter1
Summary: Edward, Cyborg and Arella have a problem after a spell from Mumbo reacts with Edward's lightning breath: The Titans are reverted to being kids. No, they are not in a chiba form, but kids without their powers/abilities. How will Edward cope? Some Romanian text included.
1. Titans to Tots

**Edward and the Tiny Titans**

March, 2012

Rated: T

Author's Note: Teen Titans and other related characters are courtesy of DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Xena is owned by Universal/MCA Television.

**Prologue  
[A month after the Honeymoon]**

_Edward Barnes writes…_

_We've got a huge problem! Mad Mod and Mumbo teamed up against us and, well, I don't know how to explain this except…_

_The team's been robbed of their age! My being 3000 is the only thing that kept me from reverting to a dragonet, but, it feels like I've also shed a lot of years. Like I felt when I was with Xena in the early days of Christianity, to be honest. I still have my memories, thank God. I'm not so sure about the rest of the team. Everyone's at least 15 years younger. Some look like they're not much older than Melvin or Màs y Meños. For once, I'm glad that Arella stays at the Tower as she's the only member of the main Titans team not to have been affected…As well as Cyborg._

_This has left me as being the co-leader of the team of barely 10 year old kids, but, what gets me is that Cyborg's implants seem to have protected him. The misfired spell didn't work on him. We'll need his help in a big way._

_The big question: Will this wear off and the team reverts to their proper ages or will this require that the team grow up all over again?_

**Chapter 1  
[A couple of days after the Honeymoon ended]**

Edward and Raven had returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii and were settling into an early routine as husband and wife. Edward would arise before Raven and after finishing his morning toilette would go make Raven and himself some herbal tea before the other Titans, save Nightwing, were awake. Nightwing would usually be on the roof, enjoying the sunrise alone. It was one of the times when it was understood by the team that Nightwing needed the space to think about recent events or finalize plans for the day. It wasn't to feed the Boy Wonder's obsessive nature, however. Bruce had explained before that even when Nightwing was starting his career as Robin, he'd sit on the roof of Wayne Manor and watch the sunrise. It was a manner of stress relief for the pre-teenaged Dick Grayson who couldn't go on missions with Batman that happened to carry over to the present.

By the time the herbal tea was ready, Edward would sense Raven coming awake. Usually, her emoticlones would start to stir first. Then, Raven herself would wake up, stretch and do her morning routine. After that, she'd head to the kitchen area and snuggle Edward before enjoying the tea. They both enjoyed the White and Green Tea mixture with a touch of honey. There were, of course, many other herbal teas that both enjoyed.

Typically, though, Edward would finish his tea and turn his attention to cooking. However, on this day, Cyborg had offered to cook breakfast. So, as the happy couple was enjoying the tea, the other members of the team came in.

First, Terra and Beast Boy had arrived, wearing their new rings. It turned out that while Edward and Raven were in Hawaii, Beast Boy had been saving his money and surprised Terra with a wedding proposal! She had readily accepted, but, opted to keep the news from Edward and Raven until they returned a few days later.

"Good morning!" Edward said cheerfully, "How's the newest engaged couple doing?"

"We're doing well," Terra replied with a half-smile and a yawn.

Raven gave them a small smile, indicating her happiness for the couple.

"Any coffee made?" Beast Boy asked.

"Pick a flavor," Edward said. He had sprung for an industrial sized Keurig Coffee Maker and a large amount of individual coffees and teas for it. That gave the team a wide variety of stuff for their morning wakeup.

Beast Boy went over and got himself the choice he wanted, Terra did the same. It only took a few minutes for them both to be enjoying a nice hot beverage.

Cyborg was next to come in and he rummaged around until he got the type of coffee he desired. Five minutes later, he was happily drinking some hot chocolate.

Others came in to get their morning "Cup o' Joe" over the space of the next 30 minutes. By then, Cyborg had starting cooking stuff. He had even, finally, given up on getting Beast Boy to munch on some meat. In fact, Terra was starting to eat more vegetarian meals, thus making her new fiancée happy.

Cyborg opted for simple waffles, though. He wasn't in the mood to do much more than that, so, he hurried up and made a batch for everyone, he made a pile of bacon as well for those on the team that enjoyed that tasty treat.

Nightwing had come down from the roof and was setting up the plates and a few other things. He had kept Edward and Raven on "leave" status, but, they were itching to get back into the game. After the rough beginning to the honeymoon, Nightwing wanted to make it up to them.

As the team finished breakfast and were heading to the training center, the alert system went off. They raced to the AI station and as the map of the area in trouble came into view, it was apparent that the team was needed.

"Let's go, Titans," Nightwing said. They all headed to the T-car and within a few minutes, were skimming across the bay and into the city itself.

They arrived at the scene and discovered that Mad Mod and Mumbo were working together to create a lot of chaos.

"Hey, King Moddie," Mumbo said, "Lookie here. The Titans are here to spoil the act."

"Nay!" Mad Mod said, "I won't allow the likes of these spoiled brats to ruin a perfectly good British holiday."

Edward raised an eyebrow, "Did he just call us spoiled brats?"

"I did," Mod said, "Look, me ducky, I'm not one to tell people twice to call me by my rightful title: King Moddie the First."

"King of what?" Edward asked, eyes faintly glowing yellow.

"King of the Colonies, of course," Mod answered.

"You mean here, the United States?" Edward asked, "I don't recall a monarchy taking priority over the duly elected President?"

"That's because Mad Mod doesn't agree that the USA should even exist and insists that he is the rightful Royal to be in charge," Nightwing said.

"If this pipsqueak thinks I will bow down to him as a rightful ruler of this country, then, I'm a naïve Dragon," Edward said.

"Careful, Moddie," Mumbo said, "This guy likes to steal the show, that is if his little purple wench doesn't try first."

"Mumbo," Edward said stonily, eyes starting to glow yellow, "Last time we fought, your parlor tricks weren't effective on me, remember? And, call my wife a wench again and I'll slap the taste right outta yer mouth."

Edward transformed to his mini-dragon form.

The team could see that Edward was steamed, but, still in control.

[Sticks and stones, dear,] Raven soothed, [His insults don't bother me.]

They saw Edward's eyes reverting to normal.

Edward allowed his spines to start to glow white.

Mad Mod, however, flipped the top of his cane and hit a button. A lot of robots materialized and marched forward, towards the team.

"Taking a page out of Slade's book?" Edward supposed, "No matter."

"Titans, GO!" Nightwing said.

The battle started in earnest then. Edward fried several robots with his lightning breath. Cyborg slammed several with his sonic cannon. Beast Boy formed an elephant and crushed others as Terra flattened others with boulders. Nightwing caused others to explode with his exploding disks while Raven pulled others apart with her powers.

Jericho was adapt at hand to hand combat, so, he battled several robots. He couldn't use his possession powers against the robots, though.

Mumbo tried using a spell, but, was interrupted by a blast from Edward. What happened next was a sudden end to the fight. The magic from Mumbo interacted with Edward's lightning, causing a huge explosion! Everyone was tossed and knocked out in the process. Only thing that spared Mumbo and Mad Mod were the remaining robots.

They fled the scene, not caring what the results were of the misfired spell.

**[Ten minutes later]**

Edward's eyes opened and as he shook his head to clear it, he was stunned.

The other Titans looked as if they were wearing clothes 5 times too large for them and he went to Raven first. He flipped her over and his jaw dropped! She wasn't a nearly 21 year old woman, she was not much older than Melvin! He raced over to the other fallen Titans and the results were the same. Each one was reverted to a child, except for Cyborg, but, he was offline as well

Then, he realized something: He was physically much younger as well. He felt as if he were not much older than his days fighting alongside Xena and Gabrielle.

He pulled out a communicator and said, "Edward to Tower, Emergency!"

Arella appeared on screen and said, "What's wrong?"

"The fight went bad, Arella," Edward said, "Real bad."

"Do you need medical attention?" she asked.

"No…A day care center," Edward replied.

"A WHAT?!" Arella exclaimed. Edward merely flipped the communicator around and showed Arella the results.

"They've reverted to children," Arella said, "Oh, Azar! Now what do we do?"

"They don't know that they've been reverted and I have no idea if they still have their memories, powers or what," Edward said, "I'm bringing them back to the Tower. You might want to call the Justice League just in case."

[What happened?] a childlike voice echoed through his head.

[Raven?] he asked.

[Who is Raven? I'm Rachel,] she said.

"Crap," Edward said to Arella, "I still have the link with Raven, but, I don't think she remembers. She just used her birth name."

"Get them home, fast!" Arella said.

"Have some towels or something ready to cover them as their clothes didn't shrink," Edward said.

He carefully wrapped the Titans' uniforms around the tots to protect their modesty/innocence as best he could. But, little Starfire and little Terra had a problem. Neither had a cape and were, well, out of uniform.

Edward ran to the T-car and popped the trunk. He found a couple of towels and covered the two girls' private parts before carrying them to the car.

[Who are you?] Raven asked. She was obviously unaware of the link.

[I'm a friend,] Edward said, [Just relax Rachel, you'll be ok.]

She opened her eyes and looked at Edward.

She backed away, frightened.

"Do you recognize me?" Edward asked, dreading the answer.

She shook her head. Edward's heart sank and he turned away, lest Raven see the tears that were threatening to fall.

Arella was watching through the open channel and said, "Edward, it'll be OK, we'll figure something out."

Little Raven heard her mom's voice and smiled, "That's mommy!"

"Let me talk to her," Arella ordered. Edward turned around and said, "You're right. It's mommy and she wants to say Hi."

He bent low and showed Raven the communicator.

"Mommy?" she asked.

"Hi, Rachel," Arella said, "Are you OK?"

"I feel strange, Mommy," Raven said.

"What's wrong, baby?" Arella asked.

"I don't know," Raven said and tears leaked out of her eyes.

"You see that nice guy next to you?" Arella asked gently, "His name is Edward. He's a friend of Mommy's. I want you to listen to what he says, all right?"

"Scared," Raven said.

"I won't hurt you," Edward said.

_Her emoticlones aren't there,_ Edward thought, _I really gotta hope that this is temporary! It means that the clone Rae's mind created of me is likely gone or out of commission. I don't even think her mirror is a portal now._

"Promise?" Raven asked.

"Cross my heart," Edward said.

"Pinky-Swear!" Raven demanded, holding up her hand.

Edward smiled as he hooked her pinky finger and said, "I swear upon these pinky fingers that I will never hurt you."

Raven giggled, then, started crying.

Edward carefully hugged his now way underaged wife and she stiffened up.

"It'll be OK, little one," he soothed as he rubbed her back gently. Her powers weren't even reacting, though.

"Arella," he whispered, "when did Rae's powers start to manifest?"

"She's Trigon's spawn," Arella whispered, "She had flashes of her powers at the age she appears to be now. But, she was closer to ten when the monks had to start teaching her more about control."

By then, the other kids had started to come to, starting with Nightwing.

"Unde sunt?" he asked. It took Edward a second to realize that Nightwing was speaking in Romanian!

_Where am I?_ Edward translated in his head.

"Cu un prieten," Edward replied. {_With a friend_}

"Unde sunt părinții mei?" Nightwing asked, looking around.

_Where are my parents?_ Edward translated in his head, then, his face paled as he realized that Nightwing had reverted to before his parents died in that acrobatic accident.

_Man, oh man! How do I tell him that his parents are gone?_ He thought to himself. It dawned on him that all of the Titans would be suffering the same sort of memory loss and just as confused.

Edward looked at Beast Boy…or rather Garfield Logan as a normal person as he woke up and saw that he wasn't in Africa.

"Who are you?" he asked, "Where am I? Where's my parents?!"

Tara woke up next and looked around. Edward remembered her as a kid due to the plane crash she survived. Edward figured that she looked to be within a year of that.

Starfire woke and said, in Tamaranian, "Where's _k'norfka_? Where am I?"

Edward switched to her language, "You're with a friend, Koriand'r. Galfore is not here, but, he asked me to keep you from harm." He'd have to flash teach her English somehow that wasn't too creepy.

Jericho woke up and Edward had to hide the surprise on his face: His scar was gone!

"Joey?" Edward asked, "You OK?"

"Yeah," he said, "Who are you?"

Edward smiled and said, "I'm Edward…and I'm happy to meet you." He didn't dare tell little Jericho that his voice was destroyed by Slade.

Cyborg was the lucky one, in a way…He didn't need to be covered as his cybernetics protected him from being reverted, but, he was offline. He had given Edward emergency command codes. Edward considered this to be an emergency.

"You kids stay here for a minute," he said, then, translated that into Romanian and then into Tamaranian.

He went over to Cyborg and whispered into his cybernetic ear, "Emergency system reboot, authorization Barnes Gamma 513, enable."

A few seconds later, Cyborg powered up, first his cybernetics came online, and flickering as power hit his systems. His cybernetic eye lit up and then his organic half woke up.

"Yo, Dawg," he muttered, "What happened."

"No time to explain, and, you wouldn't believe me unless you saw it," Edward said, "You're the acting leader of the Tiny Titans."

"Acting leader of the Tiny Ti…SAY WHAT?!" Cyborg exclaimed as he looked at the child forms of his friends.

"Victor," Edward said, "You need to stay calm. The team, except you, has been robbed of their age, powers and memories. Look at me, do I look different?"

Cyborg punched up Edward's baseline and did a quick scan. His jaw dropped, "You're physically at least 2,000 years younger. How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Edward said, "By all rights, when I was barely 1,000 years old, I was fighting alongside my long time honor sister, a Greek woman named Xena…before my self-imposed exile. That's where my memories should be, given the kids here. I guess being a Dragon spared me from the worst of these effects.

"But, here's what I know. Nightwing's reverted to before his parents died and speaks in Romanian. Starfire's lost her ability to speak any Earth languages. Jericho…he's talking now. Raven's back to her youth. Terra is at the age I first met her. Don't call Beast Boy that…He's fully human."

"Mister?" Garfield said, "I'm hungry."

Edward looked and replied, "We'll take you to my home and we'll have a party."

"Uh-uh!" Garfield objected, "Daddy says never to go with strangers."

"Well, I'm Edward, and this is my friend Victor, but, you can call him Cyborg," Edward said, "What's your name?"

"Gawfield," he said proudly.

"Then, we're not strangers, right, Garfield?" Cyborg asked gently.

He scrunched his brow before nodding, "No. We not strangers."

"Arella's been keeping Raven calm," Edward said, soto voce, "But, let's get these kids back to the Tower and fed. I'll teleport to the WatchTower and get some help, you contact Titans East and my son. Tell the Titans East that I'll arrange for Steel City to get covered by one of the Justice League folks, but, I'm calling a Code Red. Or, get hold of some of the Honorary Titans and they can cover Steel City.

"Raven got lucky as her leotard shrank to cover her. Terra and Starfire are covered in some towels I found. Nightwing's cape is covering him and I used Raven's cape to cover Jericho."

"So, they need clothes," Cyborg said, "The infirmary has some child-sized gowns and stuff, mainly in case we had to treat the younger members of the team."

"That reminds me, let Melvin, Timmy and Teether know they are spending some time with us. But, until further notice…The Titans are stood down."

Cyborg nodded, "Agreed."

It took several minutes for the two of them to coax the little Titans into the T-Car and buckled in.

"Kids," Edward said gently, "I know you're all scared right now. We'll get this fixed and everything will be all right."

"Ce?" Dick asked.

"What?" Cyborg said.

"That's what he asked, Cyborg," Edward said, "Nightwing, when he was younger, only knew Romanian. He can't speak English or if he can, it's been suppressed. It means that, for a while, I will have to be a translator. Same for Starfire as she lost her English and Japanese speech."

Edward turned towards little Richard and said, "Nu-ți face griji. Totul va fi bine." _Do not worry. Everything will be fine._

"Does David know Romanian?" Cyborg asked as Edward gathered up the clothing.

"I'd have to ask," Edward said, "I know he has the same trait I do with learning languages."

"That brings up another question," Cyborg started to say, but, Edward help up a hand.

"I don't know how they'd react to my other abilities. Terra's brother was OK with it, so were Raven's munchkins, but, now, we'll play it by ear."

Edward was also puzzled…Where were the JCPD? Mad Mod and Mumbo were also gone, but, Edward figured they ran off when that spell backfired.

"Mister?" Garfield asked, "I gotta go!"

Edward tossed the clothes into the trunk and said, "OK, we'll stop on the way to my home and you can go."

"Am să folosesc baia," Richard said. _I have to use the bathroom,_ Edward translated in his head.

Edward told him the same thing he said to Garfield in Romanian as he got into the car. It was a tight fit, though. Cyborg was driving with little Raven in the front as well as Jericho and Edward. Edward carefully reduced his size to fit. The others were squeezed in the back of the T-Car.

"We're going on a fun trip," Edward said, "The car can drive on water as well as on the road."

"We won't sink?" Raven asked.

"No, Rachie," Edward said, "We won't sink."

She smiled up at Edward.

"Let's head for home," Cyborg said and started the T-car. Luckily, there was a Burger Mart nearby and they stopped.

Edward and Cyborg herded the kids into the bathroom. They got lucky in that Terra, Raven and Starfire didn't have to use the bathroom.

Edward considered calling Galfore for some help. He owed a debt to the Titans after Blackfire's failed invasion, but, Edward did not want to take him away from his royal duties.

Edward also got the children something to eat while they were there. He figured that he would be busy for the next couple of hours arranging for Jump City to be protected and trying to track down Mumbo as well as getting supplies for the suddenly pre-teen Titans.

Little Starfire looked at her meal and asked, "What is this?" Edward replied, "It's really good, my bumgorf."

She took a taste and smiled. Edward had put extra mustard on it, knowing how she really liked it as an adult. He didn't put any on her fries until he was certain that she liked the small burger.

Richard was more willing to eat, having probably had burgers on the road. But, how to tell him and Garfield that their parents were dead ate at the old Dragon. He hated telling someone that their loved ones died. Especially when both Richard and Garfield SAW their parents die. Richard had long ago buried his grief with his obsessive tendencies, Garfield had buried his under his jokes.

They continued on to the Tower, after Edward sent Arella a short text saying that they were on their way.

As they approached the Harbor and the kids saw the giant "T", their jaws dropped.

"You live there, mister?" Jericho asked.

"We do, Joey," Cyborg said with a grin. He was grinning cause he, too, wondered about how he sounded before Slade took away Joe's speech for life.

As the T-car approached the waterline, the tires retracted and four rockets came to life there and two rockets from the back fired up to propel the T-car towards the island.

"Neat-o!" Garfield said, clapping happily.

Richard looked at Garfield, not understanding. Edward said, in Romanian, "He thinks this is nice." Richard smiled.

It was five minutes later and they were in the garage. Edward unbuckled the two in front while Cyborg got the kids in the back.

They got the kids in the elevator and Edward punched the button for the main area. They got out a few moments later and Arella met the kids.

Edward felt a flash of sadness from Arella, though and knew why. She was seeing Raven as a child once more, the child that she missed out on due to Trigon. Now, Raven was cleansed from Trigon's evil and Arella held her arms out.

"Mommy!" Raven yelled and ran to Arella. Arella hugged Raven and picked her up.

"I missed you, Rachie," Arella said.

The others started asking where their parents were and Edward was forced to distract them. He was hoping that seeing the Tower would jostle their memories and unlock things.

He also knew that it would take time. He also knew how Robin awakened Raven's memories and hoped that it would work again.

The question, though, was "How to reverse the spell?"

* * *

_Hi, Everyone,_

_I'm going to take a break from my other stories for a while and focus on this one._

_How will Edward, Cyborg and Arella cope with a tower full of kids who, from their viewpoint, have never met before. How will Arella cope with seeing Raven as a child, heck, how will Edward deal with it? He certainly can't consider her his wife until things are back to normal!_

_How does Edward tell Richard and Garfield that their parents are long gone._

_And, who does Edward recruit to help cover the city while the Titans are out of action? Someone from the Justice League? His son? Titans East or honorary Titans? Or a blend of the teams? Many questions abound, that's for sure!_

_I will be posting a true Chapter 5 for Terra's Story soon, though. That chapter is pretty much in the can. The Honeymoon Story next chapter will also occupy my thoughts to wrap up another chapter, so, don't be surprised if those are updated pretty soon._

_Side note for those not already aware: Teen Titans GO! will make it's premier episode on 4/23/13 at 7:30. A word of warning. If the publicity stills are any indication, the characters have been re-designed as teenagers (not the chiba forms used in "New Teen Titans" shorts.) I don't want to sway any opinions in either direction, though._

_Also, Shorty Awards! April 8th starting about 7:30 PM EDT (US time)/11:30 PM UTC. I'm hoping that the Actress category will be featured this year as our own Tara Strong (Raven) walked away with it. It was a blast working with her, even unofficially, on this project. (I got two signed pictures and one of them was personalized! Blasted USPS almost chewed the cardboard envelope as there was a Twilight Sparkle 5 pointed highlighter, also autographed, as well...Green Cap is MIA.)_

_Happy Passover for the Jews reading this and Happy Easter for the Christians!_


	2. Edward arranges for help

**Chapter 2  
[An hour later]**

Edward had instructed Cyborg and Arella to help the kids adjust and show them to their rooms. For the foreseeable future, Edward would relocate to his original room. Cyborg was asked to make the necessary adjustments to the AI so it wouldn't try to harm the children.

Cyborg had downloaded Romanian into his language circuits so he could communicate with Richard. Edward asked Koriand'r to stay with him, though. He was the only other person in the tower to speak her language, so, he felt it best to keep her there.

After that, he started making the calls he was dreading.

The first was to Wayne Manor…

Alfred, of course, answered, "Wayne Residence, Alfred speaking."

"Alfred," Edward said, "This is Master Edward. I need to speak with Master Bruce. It's most urgent."

"Master Bruce is not available, I'm afraid," Alfred replied.

"Is he out in his other identity?" Edward asked.

"No," Alfred replied, "He's on Wayne Enterprises business today. Might I inquire what the urgency is?"

"Well," Edward replied, "The Titans were in the middle of an encounter with a magician and a guy who would rather the USA be the Colonies again. I'm not sure what happened, but, a spell from the magician went very bad. The team, except Cyborg, Arella and myself are now children again."

"My word!" Alfred exclaimed, "Even Master Richard?"

"I'm afraid so," Edward said, "He's only speaking Romanian now. Alfred…He doesn't know his parents are deceased. His memories of that are gone, so, he's unaware that he's Bruce's first ward."

"I see," Alfred replied sadly, "I shall inform Master Bruce forthwith. Are you at your tower?"

"I am," Edward said, "Please have Master Bruce use his secure communications."

"I shall," Alfred said, "Should I have Master Bruce divert from his appointments."

"I'd recommend that he makes that decision after he talks to me," Edward said, "There's things we need to discuss where the utmost in discretion is needed."

"Understandable, my dear fellow," Alfred replied. They were on an open line, something the butler understood from his British SAS days. Alfred caught Edward's meaning quite well.

Edward bid Alfred a good afternoon before placing his second call.

"Hi, Dad!" David said, "What's up?"

"We've got problems, son," Edward said.

"I gathered," David replied, "I can sense your agitation from here. What's wrong?"

Edward explained what happened and at the end, David whistled and said, "Damn, I can take a few days away, if I need to. It sounds like you got your hands full."

"Have you learned any Romanian, by chance?" Edward asked.

"I do, but, I'm not very conversant in the language," David replied.

"You should know enough to know what Nightwing is saying, I hope," Edward sighed, "Two points, though: None of the Titans affected know that they are super heroes, and, I have no choice but to tell you their real names. The second one is that they certainly do not know I'm a Dragon. I want to ease them into that if possible."

"Got it, Pop," David said, "I'll teleport this evening after you've put the kids to bed."

"That'll work," Edward said, "I'll shoot you a text when they are sleeping."

The encrypted video channel came to life and Edward said, "That's probably Bruce calling."

"All right," David replied and hung up.

Edward answered the encrypted connection and waited for the two connections to mate up. 15 seconds later, the video screen came on. At the bottom of the screen was the line "Secure connection ON."

"Hello, Bruce," Edward said, "I'll assume that Alfred informed you of the problem?"

"He has," Bruce replied, "Have you contacted the League yet? Zatanna may be able to help."

"The League was my next call actually, Bruce," Edward replied with a sigh, "I'm at a loss here. Mumbo and Mod have disappeared and, I need to question Mumbo badly. I don't give a rat's ass about Mod right now."

"Do you remember if Mumbo was trying to use a spell?" Bruce asked gently. He was getting the impression that Edward was quickly getting annoyed.

"I remember him using a spell as I fired off lightning," Edward replied, "I have an innate resistance to magic, but, that shouldn't have reacted to my lightning. But, magic's not really my forte."

"First off," Bruce said, "Calm down. You getting overly worried will not help the situation one bit. Call the League, I'm certain that Zatanna is at the Watchtower. Also, I'd ask J'onn to come down and talk to the Titans, see if he can at least resurrect their memories if not restore them to their rightful ages."

"The kids would be frightened of J'onn," Edward said.

"He's a shapeshifter as well," Bruce pointed out, "His civilian identity is a black man. That wouldn't frighten the kids."

"It might scare Starfire, but, I can show her pictures of people with different skin colors," Edward mused.

"Why are you so apprehensive, Edward?" Bruce asked.

Edward sighed, "I'm not sure. This whole thing caught me by surprise. One minute we're fighting as a team. Then, out of the blue, they're all converted into kids. How do I tell Richard that his parents were killed? How should I tell Garfield the same thing? Garfield at least understands English. Richard only speaks Romanian. It took me a moment to realize he wasn't in English anymore. Starfire, I expected her to speak her language, though."

"Listen," Bruce said, "The League will give you whatever assistance you need."

"I know," Edward said, "Far as I am concerned, the prohibition on the League helping in Jump City is null and void. I'll deal with Richard's anger should this be temporary."

"I figured as much," Bruce said, "I have meetings through tomorrow afternoon that I can't postpone, but, I will stop by tomorrow night as myself and maybe do a patrol as Batman."

"That would be a huge help," Edward said, "I'm going to have to have our AI start running simulations to see if we can't reverse the process with their stored DNA and the League's transporters, as well as letting the media..."

"NO!" Bruce said sternly, "If the media finds out, then, the state finds out as well and they will step in and take the team."

Edward's eyes started glowing yellow as he snarled, "They will not touch Raven!"

"Edward," Bruce said, unphased in the slightest, "Do you really think that they would recognize Raven as your wife when she appears and acts like a seven year old? I know you're close to panic right now. I want you to calm down. Meditate if you have to calm your emotions. The team needs you to be their rock now, more than ever. Here's something I taught Richard when he was panicking: inhale for a count of three, hold it for a count of three, and exhale for a count of three. Do that as many times as necessary. It used to get him to relax."

Edward took the advice and a moment later, his eyes faded to their normal color. Luckily, little Starfire was napping on the couch or she would have been asking some questions.

"So, what do we tell the press when they see a member of the League or several members of the League patrolling the city instead of the Titans?" Edward asked, "The citizens are used to seeing the Titans East, though, and even the Honorary Titans."

"I'd recommend that you let the public know that the Justice League is implementing a training program with the Titans East or the Honorary Titans," Bruce replied a moment later.

"I'll call you later this evening," he continued, "I do need to prepare for my next meeting."

"All right," Edward said and disconnected.

"Computer," Edward said, "I want you to run simulations based upon the following parameters: With the Titans, except for Arella, Cyborg and myself being children, is it possible to use their adult DNA to restore their rightful ages and abilities? Would their adult DNA restore their memories? If their DNA can be replaced, would the Justice League Watchtower transporters be able to replace their DNA without killing them in the process? This is a Priority One inquiry. All other priorities are rescinded."

"I need your authorization code for this inquiry, Edward," the AI responded, "Please type it into the console."

Edward entered his authorization code and the AI said, "Code accepted as priority one emergency. It will take some time to figure out and, I would need current DNA to compare."

"That's fine," Edward said, "Cyborg and I will be giving the Titans a medical checkup shortly. I'll order a DNA scan as well."

"Order accepted," the AI replied, "I can do a DNA scan when the Titans are being checked."

"Thanks," Edward said, "Please patch me through to the Watchtower."

A moment later J'onn appeared on the viewscreen.

"Hello Edward," he said neutrally, "What can I do for you?"

"Is Zatanna available? I've got a situation here that requires her unique abilities," Edward said, "It's most urgent."

"I can patch you through to her quarters," J'onn said, "Might I ask what the problem is?"

Edward told him what he told Alfred and his son. When he was finished, J'onn said, "I'll arrange for the League to help cover Jump City while you deal with this problem. I'll patch you through to Zatanna and have the transporter on standby."

"Thanks, J'onn," Edward said.

A moment later, he was patched through.

"Edward!" Zatanna said with a smile, "How are things with you and Raven?"

"Not good," he said sadly, "Raven, along with most of the team were caught in a misfired spell. They've been reverted to before they had their abilities or training."

Zatanna paled hearing that, "What?"

"The team members are children," Edward said, "I need your help, please."

"All of them?" she asked.

"Cyborg is OK. Arella wasn't even there, and, well, I feel like I did when I was much younger. That, I don't mind due to my immortality, but, the Titans…" Edward sighed.

"I understand," Zatanna said softly, "You need to know if the spell can be removed, right?"

"Precisely," Edward said.

"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked, sitting down.

"Not over an open channel, please," Edward said.

"Understandable," she said, "I'll have J'onn transport me there."

"He's waiting actually," Edward said.

"Good," she said, "Be right there."

"Have J'onn come as well, please," Edward asked, "In his civilian disguise, though."

"All right," she said and signed off.

"Computer," Edward said, "disable intruder alert system until 2100 hours, authorization Barnes Omega 67."

"Disabled," the AI said.

A few moments later, the hum of the Justice League transporter was heard and Zatanna and J'onn arrived. J'onn appeared to be a mid-30s human male.

"Thank you for coming," Edward said.

"Why did you need me?" J'onn asked.

"I need to see if the teams prior memories are buried somewhere in their minds or if everything's been lost," Edward said.

"I don't know if I can do that safely," he replied, "A telepath can sometimes open a door, but, cannot close it easily."

Edward nodded, "I understand. If you can telepathically determine that without harming yourself, I would appreciate it. You don't have to bring those memories to the front if there's any risk to yourself or them. If they can be unlocked safely, even if not fully restored, it will help in case they have to grow back into their proper ages normally. If you cannot do this without hurting yourself or them, you may decline or stop, fair enough?"

J'onn said, "For you, I will try."

"Starfire's napping on the couch," Edward said, "Heck, if she could use English; that would be a huge help."

They walked over to the sleeping child Starfire and J'onns eyes glowed brightly for several long minutes.

"I've transferred English to her, but, it will be in the same type of phrasing she used before," he reported, "Her current memories are there and, I think they will resurface on their own. They are like wisps of clouds and hard for her to grasp. But, you might be able to help by showing footage of things she's done."

Starfire blinked her eyes and said, in English, "Who are you?"

Edward smiled and said, "I'm Edward and I'm a friend."

She looked around and said, "This is not Tamaran, is it?"

"No," Edward said, "I'm sorry, Koriand'r. This is a planet called Earth."

"I want to see my k'norfka," she said, "Please, where is he?"

"He's home now," Edward said, "He loves you very much, though."

She said, "Why am I here?"

"Someone did something very bad and made you come here," Edward said.

"Galfore did that?" she asked, tearing up.

"No," Edward said gently, "I don't know who did, but, you've with friends who love you very much and let you stay here, with the other bumgorfs you saw. I do talk to your k'norfka though. We'll talk to him later, when the sky is black."

Starfire was trying to be brave, but, as her people embraced all emotion, her resolve broke. That almost ripped the heart out of Edward as he erected mental shields to shield J'onn from the worst of his feelings.

[Thank you,] J'onn said telepathically.

Edward looked at J'onn and nodded, [Thank Raven for teaching me this.]

He reached over to Starfire and said, "You know what a hug is?"

She nodded, so, Edward opened his arms. Starfire grabbed on and held tight. Even as a child, she was immensely strong, but, Edward gently held her.

"Easy, Koriand'r," he cautioned, "The people of this planet aren't as strong as you. You can hurt with a big hug without meaning to."

She gasped, "I hurt you?"

"No," Edward said, "I'm not the same as the people here. Your hugs won't hurt me as much and I heal really fast."

Starfire giggled then and started to float in the air. She had told Edward that one of the traits that even a newborn Tamaranian knew was the joy of flight. The other powers came into play later.

"I can fly here!" she said, "Yay!"

Edward lowered his mental shields at that.

[She's adjusting quickly,] J'onn noted.

[That is one of her endearing qualities,] Edward explained, [She didn't always understand and sometimes, internalized perceived hurts, but, we accept that about her.]

"Koriand'r," Edward said, "Can you come with me and these nice people, please?"

"Where are we going?" Starfire asked.

"To see some other friends," Edward replied honestly. Cyborg had the others in his room for the time being, hopefully not too stressed out.

"Can I fly there?" Starfire asked sweetly.

Edward smiled, "I think that would be all right. Yes. Just stay with me, please."

"Please, who are these friends?" she asked.

"Well, this is John," Edward said, "And this girl is Zatanna. They're good friends."

Starfire looked puzzled. Her grasp of English was not fully there, but, then, she had the same quirks as a young woman, and so, Edward had to be careful.

They walked to the elevator, but, Starfire refused to get into it. Edward shrugged and they headed down the stairs.

Five minutes later, they were in the infirmary and Starfire, after some assurances, laid down.

Edward had been trained on the use of the diagnostics anyway, so, he set it to the adult Starfire's baseline and after a few moments, the AI said, "Edward, I've scanned Starfire. Physically, while not at her proper age, she is otherwise fine. It will take a while to run a detailed check of her DNA, though."

Edward sighed, "Understood."

"Would you mind if I looked through Raven's room?" Zatanna asked.

"Raven rarely lets anyone, outside of me, into her room…Normally," Edward said, "As this is certainly not normal, and her memory is also either gone or locked away, I don't have a problem with it."

"I'll stay here with Starfire," J'onn said. Edward smiled and replied, "Works for me. Koriand'r, I need you to stay here, with J'onn."

Starfire said, "You said he was a friend?"

"He's the one that taught you my language," Edward said, "We haven't been talking in your language. Yes, he's a good friend."

"Ok," Starfire said, "I'll stay here."

Edward leaned down and gave little Starfire a kiss, getting a giggle out of her.

Edward then walked Zatanna to Raven's room and the door opened for him automatically.

"What do you need?" Edward asked.

"Raven's spellbooks, for one," Zatanna said, "Hopefully they might have something I can use."

"Be careful," Arella said, coming up behind them, "Raven's sleeping there. I figured putting her in familiar surroundings might help her memory, if it's still there."

"I'm hopeful it is, Arella," Edward said, "J'onn is also here and when he tried to see if Starfire's memories were there, he said that there they were there, but, locked away. He couldn't unlock her memories without risking his stability.

"Damn! Where are my manners? Zatanna, this is Arella Roth, Raven's mom. Arella, this is Zatanna from the Justice League. She's also a high level magic users."

Zatanna smiled, "We met at Raven's bridal shower, actually. But, thank you anyway."

They all went in and, sure enough, Raven's now smaller form was sleeping and snoring softly.

Edward tried to use the link in a passive mode to see if her emoticlones were even there or even the one she formed of him.

But, he couldn't sense anything from the emoticlones. It was like there was a block in the way.

[Rachel?] he tried softly, [Can you hear me?]

But, there was no reply. She was too deeply asleep to register his mind touch.

He wanted to try using her mirror, but, wasn't sure if it would even function and if it did, would he be able to escape.

"Zatanna," he asked aloud, "Raven has a mirror that is actually a portal into her mind. Do you think it still would work or can you even test it without being pulled in?"

"Let me see the mirror," she requested.

Arella reached over and got the mirror, reflective side down as a precaution. She handed it to Zatanna.

Zatanna looked at the mirror closely and pulled out her wand. She waved it over the mirror and a glowing light encased the mirror. It faded away and Zatanna said, "I'm sorry, the portal is either closed or non-existent. It's a regular mirror."

Edward took it and looked as his reflection.

"One way to find out," he said, "If the mirror is still a portal, even if it's blocked, I might get to the door and be bounced back…or nothing at all happens."

He took a breath and said, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The mirror flashed with Raven's dark power for a moment, but, nothing else happened.

"Well," he said, putting it down, "That might be a good sign, in a way. It's still a portal, but, the energy itself needed to pull me in was partially blocked."

Zatanna said, "That was pretty risky, but, it does give me something to work with.

"But, let's go someplace where we can talk."

They left Raven's room and headed to the Ops Center, where they sat down.

"First, I need you to tell me exactly what happened," Zatanna said, "Start at the beginning of the fight."

"Well," Edward said, "We arrived at the scene to find that Mad Mod, a Brit who styled himself 'King Moddie, the First," as he believes that the Unites States should be part of the British Empire as well as a magician named Mumbo Jumbo.

"The team had tangled with both before, but, they had never teamed up before. No matter. After trading some verbal jabs, Nightwing gave the order to attack when a lot of robots were used against us.

"Those robots were far cruder than the Slade-bots and easily taken down. The fight lasted a good 10 minutes or so.

"Mumbo tried to use a spell against us just as I fired off some lightning. The next thing I knew, I was waking up with a slight headache and the first thing I noticed was that the team, except for Cyborg and myself were wearing what I thought was clothes suddenly way too big for everyone.

"I flipped Raven over and discovered that she's a child. The others were also children…Raven was lucky as spandex is more form fitting and she was spared being 'out of uniform'. The others were not so lucky and I had to act to protect their dignity.

"Raven contacted me via our telepathic link, but, I suspect that she thought I was talking to her out loud."

Zatanna said, "There may be some traces left of the misfired spell, but, it doesn't sound good. I take it you've got an innate resistance to most magic?"

Edward nodded, "I do. Rae's spells do affect me, though. She's tried to encase me before, in her mind and it took a lot of effort to bust out. Then again, that pushed me well past a breaking point and…well, her father is no more."

"Superman told me about that," Zatanna said, putting her hand gently on Edward's shoulder.

She continued, "It's going to take a while to figure out what happened and if I can reverse it magically. I know that you're hurting, Edward, deep down. But, for now, you have to remember that you're single again."

Edward leaned forward and hearing that brought the crushing weight of being emotionally alone again back. The loss of Callisto and their adopted son…the centuries of having to hide in exile, yet, in plain sight…losing Paula and failing to protect her was too much and he started sobbing quietly. Now, he had failed to protect Raven.

Arella reached over and pulled Edward into her embrace.

"It'll be all right," she soothed, "I don't know how, but, it'll be OK."

"I feel as if the Raven we both know is gone for good," he said quietly, "I failed."

"Edward! You didn't fail," Arella said, "Rachel is still with us, even though she's a child for the third time. We'll get her back somehow. We'll get the rest of the team back."

As this was playing out, though, little Terra came in and sat down next to Edward, seeing how Zatanna had moved.

"Hi," she said shyly, "What's wrong?"

"He's sad," Arella said.

"How come?" Tara asked.

"His friends have gone away," Arella said, "We don't know how to find them."

Tara looked sad and said, "I'll be your friend, Mister."

Edward looked at the face of the child he'd helped to rescue well over a decade ago and sighed, "Thank you, Tara."

"How do you know my name?" she asked, surprised.

"Do you remember when you were in an accident?" Edward asked. Tara nodded and replied, "A little bit. Brion said a nice man came along and helped Papa and I. He told me that he rode a dragon. Like they really exist!"

"I was the guy that helped you and they told me your name, Tara," Edward said.

"Prove it," Tara challenged him playfully.

"Promise you won't be scared first," Edward said, wiping his face.

"It's a deal," Tara said, sticking out her hand. Edward took it gently.

He moved over to the center of the room and morphed to his mini-dragon form.

Tara, showing a flash of the brazenness that defined her in later life walked over to Edward and got on his back.

Edward twisted his neck, trying to look stern, but, failing as he broke out in a grin.

"Now, do you believe me?" Edward asked.

Tara stuck out her tongue and said, "Show-off."

"Tell you what, Tara," Edward said, "You're obviously not afraid of me, and I like your bravery. I wasn't able to give you a ride after you were hurt, so, let's do that tomorrow."

Tara smiled and asked "How do I get down?"

Edward extended a wing and said, "Slide down the wing." She complied and giggled, "That was cool!"

[I think you made a new friend,] J'onn quipped.

[She's reverted to her pre-accident personality, I think,] Edward said, [It means that whatever emotional damage was there earlier today is gone.]

Edward sighed, [All these Titans are back to basics, before they were heroes. We have a chance to let them develop as they could have naturally or restore them to what they are destined to be.]

[That means giving Raven up,] J'onn pointed out, [She may not develop her feelings towards you and right now, you have to remember that your marriage is, for now, suspended. I can sense your loneliness returning. Do you really want that?]

[No,] Edward admitted, [I know it's selfish to want my wife back and leave the others, but, the adult Raven would have my dragon hide hung on her wall if I didn't try to get everyone restored.]

Edward morphed back to human and said aloud, "I need to be alone for a little while. I need to get hold of the other Titans anyway and see who is available to fill in."

"We'll start looking into the problem," Zatanna said. She gave Edward a hug, which was returned.

"Thanks," he said, "I needed that."

Edward walked to his original room and pulled out his communicator.

"Edward calling Titans East," he said.

A moment later, Bumblebee came on screen.

"What's up, Flamehead?" she said.

"Normally, I'd object to that, but, we've got a wee problem here," Edward said.

"Usually Nightwing calls us if there's a problem," BumbleBee noted.

"He can't, Bee," Edward said, "Nightwing, Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy, Terra and Jericho have been robbed of their ages and memories. They are not much older than Màs Y Meños."

"You're kidding me, right?" BumbleBee asked.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M KIDDING?!" Edward snarled angrily, "My wife isn't even technically my wife anymore! She's a KID! Beast Boy is a regular skinned, blond, brown eyes kid! Terra's powers are gone. So are Raven's. Jericho has reverted to BEFORE that bastard Slade let him lose his voice. Nightwing…only speaks Romanian and Starfire's the lucky one, I think her powers are still there."

"You didn't mention Sparky," Bee said, "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

Edward took a calming breath and said, "It's OK. Cyborg's fine. Mumbo's misfired spell didn't affect him.

"But, the team is done for unless we can figure things out and get them back to their rightful ages. We need some help."

"We'll be there in the morning," BumbleBee said.

"Thanks, Bumblebee," Edward said.

"Stay chilly," she said, "It's gonna be OK."

"I hope so," Edward said, "I need to make a few other calls. I think Jinx is still around town."

"Be careful," Bee said, "Her loyalties may still be on the fence."

"Understood," Edward said, "See you in the morning, then."

Bumblebee signed off to tell her team to get packing.

Edward called Kole next and when she heard what had happened, she immediately offered to come help, despite what had happened in the past when people used her for her abilities. Gnarrk also wanted to come, of course. Edward agreed to pick them up in the morning after the Titans East arrived.

The city, however, needed to be covered that night or there would be questions asked.

Edward gave that some thought before he called Jinx. Cyborg, Arella, J'onn and Zatanna were there to watch their charges, David would arrive via teleport later on. Things were covered at the Tower.

He called Jinx after deciding he would patrol that night, even if it were just to clear his mind.

"Hi, Jinx," Edward said, "You busy?"

"Not really," she replied, "What's up?"

"You best have a seat, my new friend," Edward said. Then, he repeated the same thing that he said to several others about the misfired spell.

Jinx tried not to laugh out loud. Part of her was happy that the Titans had been defeated in such a manner. But, she actually was able to avoid that. She was still working on redemption for her past crimes and laughing in Edward's face was sure to well and truly anger the resident Dragon on the team.

But, Edward surprised her by saying, "Jinx, if you want to laugh about this, I guess I'll let you. I know that had you heard about this if you were with the Hive, you would be howling. I understand why."

Jinx did laugh, for a moment, "I'm really sorry, man. This is funny to me and, you're right, if the others heard about it…"

"Jinx," Edward said, "I do really need your help here, even if it's for a day or two. Nightwing would have my ass if the city wasn't covered in this absence…assuming that they can be returned to normal."

Jinx calmed down and said, "You're not one to ask for much help. I'm honored to be asked. Yes, I can do that. The courts recently looked favorably on my community service while you were on your honeymoon."

Edward nodded, "I'm glad to hear that. Courts do look more favorably on attempts to redeem oneself. I'll happily put in a good word for you. Nightwing and I believe in giving people a chance to right wrongs. Can you come over now or should I pick you up when I do a patrol?"

"You can get me when you're out," Jinx said, "I'll have to pack a few things at least."

Edward signed off a few moments later and leaned back.

_Well,_ he thought, _I've done all I can to get help in this situation. J'onn's going to try to at least see if the children's memories are just blocked or if they are gone. The AI is working on a possible scientific solution. Zatanna will see if there's a way to reverse the spell magically. Maybe Jinx could help in that department. The Titans East will be here tomorrow, as will Bruce. But, it's going to be a long evening without my Raven by my side._

Edward sighed and closed his eyes. He was asleep a minute later…

* * *

_Hi, Everyone :)_

_First thing's first: I need to give a screen credit to Gilmare for the use of Bruce's calming technique earlier in the chapter. This was used in the story "From Ashes" which I am following. It's a "What-if" story about Robin being forced to be Slade's apprentice far longer than in the "Apprentice" two parter from season 1 and his journey back from the darkness with the help of Tim Drake. I strongly recommend this story as it's well written and captures Bruce/Batman quite well._

_Next, I think I will be working on this one primarily whilst the Muse gets off her rump and provides more fodder for the other two stories._

_Quickie review reply time to "Nerdman": Thanks for the review! Nope, not dead or given up on writing. Just hit a bought of writer's block with the other two stories I'm trying to work on. Also, I was working to get one of the voiceover folks in the show a Shorty Award...That was successful :)  
_


	3. Edward starts to cope with the changes

**Chapter 3  
[About 6 PM]**

Edward had woken up from his short nap, hoping it was a dream, but, realized it wasn't when Raven was shaking him awake. She looked exactly like Robin had said months ago the first time she was de-aged.

"Hi," she said shyly, "Can I sit next to you?"

Edward smiled softly and picked her up gently to sit her down.

"You don't ever have to ask me that," Edward said, "I'm a friend, Rachel."

"I had a dream, mister," she said softly.

"What was it about?" Edward asked, "Do you remember anything about it?"

"A little bit," she replied, "There was this mean man there, red with horns chasing me. But another monster fighted with the mean man."

Edward's heart jumped and he had to try to keep his emotions in check hearing that.

"What did the monster look like, Rachie?" he asked.

"At first, it looked like a man, but, his eyes started glowing yellow, then red," she said.

"Did he say anything to you?" Edward asked.

"He said something like, 'Get behind me, Raven," she said, "But, I'm Rachel.

"He looked really mad, too. But, I got behind him and he changed to something else and attacked the red man."

"Did he have wings, scales and a tail?" Edward asked.

"He did! How did you know?" Raven asked, wide-eyed.

"Can I answer that by telling you a story?" Edward asked.

"I love stories!" Raven said happily.

"Once upon a time, there was a special woman in my life," Edward started, "Her name was Raven and she was my very good friend.

"But, she was a good friend to several other people I knew and loved like family. She was withdrawn for the most part, but, to those she loved, she would open up to and call them a friend.

"As the days passed, Raven and her friends saw something about me that they liked. Have you ever heard of dragons, Rachie?"

She shook her head, "No, there aren't any of those here."

"Sweetheart," Arella said, coming up behind them, "We're not in Azarath now."

"Why not, Mommy?" she asked.

"We had to leave," she said sadly, "Your father made us come here. We're on Earth."

Raven teared up hearing that. Her head drooped as she started crying. Edward pulled her into an embrace and she stiffened up.

"Rachie," Edward said quietly, as he tried to send calming vibes through the link as well, "I know you're scared. It's a new place and you don't know anyone here except for mommy. I promise you that no one here will hurt you."

Edward wasn't getting any mental feedback from the link like when Trigon snapped it, so, it was still there to some degree. Edward already knew that he could talk to her through it.

Raven relaxed in response to the vibes on an instinctual level.

Arella tapped Edward and pointed. The TV remote was shrouded in Raven's powers, but, still intact.

Edward smiled seeing that, though.

A minute later, Raven had calmed down and the remote returned to normal.

"I'm scared," she said quietly, "But, I think I can trust you."

Edward broke out in a huge grin as one battle had been won.

"What are dragons?" she asked.

"Well," he said, "There's only one that I know of, Rachie. He can be really, really big or he can be really small. He can also look like anything he wants, but, he is really nice to those he loves."

"Where is he?" Raven asked.

Edward let her go and said, "Right here in this room." Raven looked up at him and said, "I don't see him."

Edward said, "Close your eyes, sweetheart." She did and Edward morphed to his shoulder sized version and said, "Open your eyes, please."

Raven opened her eyes and let out a squeal of wonder seeing Edward there.

"You Edwawd?" she said.

"That's him, Rachie," Arella said with a smile. Edward flew to Raven's shoulder and landed softly. He nuzzled her with his snout.

"I think he wants you to rub his head," Arella said, reaching down and showing Raven how to do that. She copied the move a moment later.

Edward was fighting his emotions, though. He was worried that whatever happened was not going to wear off and the Titans were no more.

He flew off and glided to the floor before returning to his human form.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I need a few minutes alone." He hugged Raven, who returned it and headed to his old room.

As soon as he was alone, he said, "Computer, seal my door for a few minutes, please." There was a chime to indicate that the door was sealed.

Edward sat down on a chair and let his own emotions go. His mind flashed back to a little while ago.

**[2 weeks prior]  
[A/n: This section references from "The Dubois Chronicles" by DJ Dubois. Characters used by permission. Also, references "Xena: Warrior Princess". Those chatacters are owned by Universal/MCA and Renaissance Pictures. Also references "Full Metal Jacket".]  
**

Edward, Raven and Arella had decided that it was best to finally return to Azarath to put the souls there to rest. Arella was feeling more restless the longer they waited and so, one afternoon, Raven broke down and said, "Fine, we'll go to Azarath."

Edward replied, "You sure, my love?"

"We have to go," Arella said, "The souls that Trigon claimed must be cleansed or they will be in limbo forever. They will not be able to transcend into the afterlife."

"I'm going with you, then," Edward said, "Do we need any of the monks?"

"No," Raven said, "Before I left, I was being trained by Azar…to take over someday."

"A priestess?" Edward said with a smirk, "I once knew several awesome priestesses. I do miss them at times."

"Your days from ancient Greece?" Raven asked.

"No," Edward said, "When I came across that exiled family, initially there were three of them. After several weeks of being together and protecting a slave couple, the man switched personalities to a very angry, very powerful Child with powers that were similar to yours in strength.

"Well, after a brief fight…It really wasn't a fight after the man's alter ego emerged…I offered the couple and Paula my hearth. One morning, I realized I needed answers and the only way to get them was my time teleport."

"You teleport through the time stream?" Arella asked.

"When there's a pressing need, yes," Edward said, "I've always could, but, it's always a temptation to go back and prevent some events in history. I know that if I do, it erases what is to be. I could save people meant by my God to die or accidentally create a paradox. Raven, what would happen in that case?"

"All existence could be destroyed. The universe and everything in it would cease to be," Raven said, "That's the worst case, though. There could only be minor ripples in the time stream or, as Edward pointed out to Terra, he could remove Hitler from history and the United States and The USSR might have destroyed each other in World War II."

"Well," Edward said, "I knew my answers lay in the past with my first honor sister as she was soul-bonded with my friend's wife. So I traveled backwards through time and almost as soon as I arrived, I had to chase off the Greek war god who has opted to attack one of the Amazons. After he rode my full force lightning and swatted across the field, he left. I discovered that the woman was also out of modern times, but it was voluntary on her part. She had been hurt and was pretty tough. I gave her a ride to the Amazon Village. Then I talked to my old friend and her sidekick…who was also the queen at the time.

"I gave Xena a ride to a hidden island and discovered that the high priestess and her niece were directly related to my friend exiled in time as the high priestess was the guy's sister and the other gal was his daughter! In fact, as time went by, most of his kids were there. His two daughters and baby son were there. One daughter, his first born went back voluntarily. The daughter, well, something unspeakable happened and she was likewise unable to return to modern times. His son was only about 6-8 months old. His other two are leading normal lives as we speak.

"Needless to say, I was as protective of them as I am the Titans.

"It was also when I learned of my first beloved's death. She was also a goddess and was given a dagger that could kill an immortal. I eventually found out who the villain was. By then, my friend's alter ego had a level of trust, so, we kicked that person's ass."

Raven was sensing a slight increase in Edward's sadness level, but, she didn't say anything. Edward had come to terms with his grief a long time ago.

So, they went into Raven's room and after she put down the necessary powder and holding her mother's hand as well as Edward's said the phrase, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Carazon Rakashas Enderez...Vaserix Endrien Azararth...Azarath, AZARATH!"

They entered a long white tunnel that formed and a few moments later, they were at the remains of Azarath.

The buildings lay as they had the last time they were there after Trigon destroyed them. The air didn't reek of decaying flesh as most of the population had already been reduced to skeletons.

Edward felt a pang of guilt as he knew that had he and Raven known what was happening, the team would have gone to protect Raven's home, no questions asked.

Raven took his hand and said, "Don't let guilt eat at you, Edward. There was nothing we could have done."

"Rae," he had said, "Your order is a shell of its former self. Not a single building here survived, and, I'm feeling the psychic echoes of the last minutes of everyone's lives. Their panic as Trigon tore through the population, seeing their friends and family souls devoured moments before they went into torment."

"That's why we're here, Edward," Arella said, "Unless we do this rite, those souls, now freed from Trigon will be in limbo forever and unable to pass on to Paradise as we see it."

They headed towards the remains of the temple and Raven looked around after saying, "Look for scrolls. They'll be in the Azarathian language, though."

They spread out, looking for what could be the scrolls Raven spoke of. Arella was the first to find the cache of scrolls and handed them to Raven.

Raven looked through scrolls and finally found the ones she needed, setting those aside reverently. The other scrolls were treated with the same reverence as Raven said, "We need to preserve these for future priests."

Edward nodded, "Tis our duty to preserve these, my love."

"The altar was destroyed," Arella said, pointing to a pile of marble. Edward walked over to the pile and said, "Destroyed and desecrated, I fear."

Raven nodded sadly, "Father really only wanted people to kiss his funky red ass."

Edward raised an eyebrow as Raven usually didn't cuss.

He reached over and took her into his arms, "You're sensing the vibrations as well?"

"We all are," Arella said, "Rachel the most."

"Tell me what must be done to repair this alter," Edward said.

"This alter is useless," Raven said, "Once it's been broken like this, we have to carve a new one."

Edward picked up a piece of the marble and examined it. It was roughly hewn to begin with and would make it easier for Edward to work with. Luckily, several of his "past lives" have included stone working.

"Where can we find marble here?" Edward asked.

"I'll take you there," Arella said.

"How far?" he asked.

"We'll need your Dragon form," Arella said.

A moment later, Edward was in his mini-Dragon form. Arella got on. Raven said, "I need the time to meditate anyway."

She took Edward by the snout and said, "Please take care of my mother."

"You don't have to ask that," Edward said, "She's my mother-in-law. That makes her true family. She's safe with me."

"There are creatures, though, that would want to test that theory here," she retorted.

"If I can handle Trigon and Malchior, hon," he said, "Whatever's still here shouldn't be much of a challenge."

Raven had to relent then as her new husband was right. She gave her mother a quick hug and went to meditate.

Edward took to the sky and Arella said, "Fly straight until you see some mountains in the distance, they're not too far, though."

Edward scanned ahead and, in the haze, there were some mountains about 15 miles by his reckoning. He settled into long flight mode once he reached a safe altitude to take advantage of any currents and thermals.

As they flew, Edward had wondered if they would be the last humans to visit Azarath. Already, nature had started to reclaim the land cultivated by the peaceful residents. They flew over buildings and eventually over where Trigon started his rampage. Skeletal remnants were scattered around..

Edward suppressed a shudder at the sight. _They deserved better. They were not even given the dignity of a funeral much less a burial. They lost their lives because of Trigon. They should have called Rae for help sooner. But, they might have wanted to protect her. I can understand that possibility, seeing how I protect her when she's unable to protect herself. At least, they were avenged._

"Edward," Arella said, "They knew that their duty might include death if Trigon escaped. He was too powerful and the people only knew peace. Trigon knew that as well. My people wouldn't have lasted long had they known how to fight."

"Why didn't you sent for Raven, though?" Edward mused, "This didn't have to happen. I would have fought on your people's behalf."

"My people abhorred violence in all its forms," she said, "We literally couldn't harm an insect. Calling for Rachel and her friends didn't occur to anyone at all."

"This was a Utopia, then," Edward surmised, "No wars, no violence to speak of…Gone. I think this is why Nightwing has you stay back at the Tower. He knows that you can't fight, so, he protects you the best he can."

"Partially, that's true," Arella said, "I can learn to defend myself. Violence doesn't always have to happen, but, I'm a citizen of Earth again. I can't escape the violence."

"Not without being branded a coward," Edward said, "I prefer peace as well, Arella. Rae knows I am tired of having to fight and being forced to fight. I'll do it obviously. But, I fear that someone will push me too far and an innocent person dies."

Arella said, "Have you accidentally killed someone innocent?"

"Not if I could help it," he said, "Wars are different. You have an enemy actively trying to kill you, so, to prevent your death, you shoot back and unless you make that first shot count, you might not get another. Our Marines are taught to shoot straighter then their enemy. They are issued rifles and ordered to sleep with them by their sides.

"One drill sergeant I knew would order his men to give them a female name. Sadly, though, he broke one recruit past the point of no return. The recruit snapped and murdered his superior before turning his rifle on himself.

"The Corp lost a good man that day."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Arella said.

"Arella," Edward said, "I've lost so many friends over the centuries, its becoming harder to actually mourn them. Hartman was one of them, but, I was sort of his superior officer, so, being actual friends was frowned on in his case.

"But, losing those I adopted as honor family or even as my real family…that hurts. When my first adopted son died in that storm…That was the first time I lost someone that dear and immediately, my beloved Callisto suffered a severe break. Her ability to love died that day. I didn't see her again after that.

"When I heard that she was given godhood and had lived through the centuries as a bitter, hate-filled being, I wanted to reach out to her regardless. To forgive her and ask her forgiveness if nothing else.

"But, I was robbed of that chance…one of my other enemies gave her the one weapon that can kill a god. Cally killed herself and the wench that gave her the weapon, got an interesting form of punishment. She was turned into a dog and forced to not only serve my exiled friends, but, was bequeathed to me. By the time I got her, she was fairly docile. She resented her fate, but, it was either that or being torn apart by the wild coydogs and wolves."

"You didn't avenge your first love?" Arella asked.

"I was going to, but, another deity intervened," Edward said as they kept flying, "I had to comply. It worked out for the best, though. By the time the person passed into my possession as that dog I mentioned, I had forgiven her."

Arella smiled hearing that, "I'm glad that you forgave her."

"I am too," he replied. They rode in silence for a while longer until Arella said, "See that area of pale gray?"

Edward looked and saw it a moment later, guessing Arella's intent, he started to lose altitude before landing.

Sure enough, it was raw marble.

"How much do we need?" Edward asked after Arella got down. He altered his scales to the sharper config and pulled one out with a grunt.

"I really do not enjoy that," he muttered as a new scale regenerated.

Arella said, "We need enough to make a pile, at least. The last alter, as you saw, was made out of slabs of stone."

Edward gave it some thought and said, "Slabs will be easier to transport."

He walked over to where it appeared some marble had already been removed from the quarry and drove the scale into the rock. With Edward's strength and the diamond hardness of the scale, it was like a hot knife through butter easy, but, more tedious as well.

It took about 20 minutes, by Edward's reckoning, to get the slabs out of the rest of the rock. There were three of them, each weighing about 150 pounds each.

Edward used his head and neck like a crane to stack them up.

Arella got back on, impressed with the efficient way Edward carved the slabs out of the host rock.

Edward picked them up after warning Arella he would be teleporting back to the ruins.

Arella asked, "Won't the teleport damage the slabs?"

Edward replied, "Not at all. They won't have time to get cold. Maybe a few degrees cooler, but, that's all."

He took to the air and when he was about 30 feet up, teleported back to the ruins.

By then, Raven was waiting for them to return, her meditations over.

She saw the rough-hewn slabs and said, "Those look good. Let's get them assembled and we can do what needs to be done.

"When this is done, we will not be coming back here."

The tone of Raven's voice was serious. She had no intention of ever returning to Azarath. Edward was saddened, but, understood why after looking at what Trigon had done to it. As Edward reflected, he realized that there weren't any other living creatures. Trigon had claimed not just the souls of the Azarathians, but, the animal life as well. That also saddened him as well.

Edward cleared a level area and after digging two small trenches with his claws, set two slabs in there and shored those up before putting the third slab on top.

Raven then said several words in her native tongue that, as far as Edward knew, dedicated the spot to the memory of Azar.

Then, she paused for a moment. She started uttering the words to a complex incantation and as she finished, an aura emerged from Raven. Instead of the ebon black Edward and Arella were used to, this was a brilliant white. The purest white Edward had ever seen, in fact.

The aura spread out, purifying everything it touched. As it spread, Edward realized just how powerful his wife really was when she tapped into the true depth of her abilities. His jaw dropped as he saw the souls of those in limbo start to rise towards the heavens. They were of all sizes and, Edward shed a tear when he saw the souls of the innocent children killed by Trigon rising.

Arella saw his reaction and squeezed his hand, "This is why Raven had to come here. These souls needed to be freed to move on. The children, especially. Trigon's rampage spared no one. Now, they are going to their reward."

Edward tried to fight his feeling of crushing grief. He mourned the children and the others lost that day…the day Azarath died.

**[Edward's room]**

Edward was snapped out of his flashback by Cyborg knocking on the door.

"Yo, dawg?" he called out, "You all right in there?"

Edward opened the door and motioned his friend to come in.

"Yes, and no," he answered honestly, "This mess is my fault, Victor. My wife and the team are children and this is well outside even my long experience.

"I wish I knew how to reverse this effect. I fear that the only one who can reverse this is Mumbo Jumbo and I seriously doubt he'd want to help.

"But, I know I can't shirk this duty that has befallen me. The Titans are kids and the only one that has her full powers is Star. Terra seems to be reverted to before her DNA was altered to give her the earth moving powers, for example. Beast Boy…well, that obvious. Rae probably has her powers, but, they're undeveloped. If we can get her back to normal, like what happened with Trigon's invasion, she might be able to undo the rest of this."

"Well," Cyborg said, "Don't beat yourself up, man. The AI's been working non-stop on the problem per your request. Zatanna's been looking through Raven's spellbooks and had several of hers beamed down from the WatchTower.

"Also, there's good news. The Justice League called and they are aware of the problem, of course. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl will patrol the city tonight. The cover story, at least for now, is that the Titans needed a couple of days off and they volunteered to cover until further notice.

"David called as well. He'll be at the tower later on. He'll pick up Kole and Gnarrk for us. I know the Titans East will be here in the morning.

"But, Edward, we have a big ethical question here: Should we try to reverse this? For some of the team, their powers weren't asked for. Beast Boy should have had the opportunity to grow up normally, for example. Same with Terra. Neither of them asked to be given their respective powers. Do we have a right to force them back into normalcy?"

"I've been wrestling with that question as well. You didn't see Arella when she realized Raven was a child again. She paid a huge price earlier. Do we have the right to ask her to pay it all over again? She's overjoyed right now because she sees a chance to redeem herself in Raven's young eyes. I'm at a loss. My wife is a child, yet, that same child is bringing happiness to Arella. Do I appear selfish in wanting my wife back at the cost of Arella's happiness? Or do I crush Arella just to get my wife back to being 20 again?"

By then, Edward's eyes started glowing an odd color. Cyborg looked but, didn't comment on the weird color. Usually when Edward was agitated, they'd glow yellow. The team knew the warning signs better than most in that regard. But, this was more of a pale green-yellow.

"For once, I just don't know," Cyborg said, "I know your heart wants Raven back to normal. But, your mind is conflicted badly. It's a no win situation. Let Raven grow up all over again and the state courts declare your marriage void due to her being physically 7, just to give Arella the chance to right wrongs. Or get Raven back to normal and potentially shatter Arella's heart.

"Arella's the only one that can tell you what she feels is best here. I know she loves having you for a son-in-law and not because you rescued her. She loves the fact that you brought our empath out of her shell and you've accepted Raven unconditionally. Raven, before you came into the picture, was sometimes difficult to get along with. She had her weird moments. Even that unauthorized adventure into her mind didn't get her to loosen up too much. She was afraid of what we really thought about her.

"But, with Beast Boy, I know he still thinks it's very cool that he can turn into different animals and, he loved being able to do a dragon. But, this normal Garfield Logan…I don't know. If we told him that part of the price paid for his ability was losing his parents, he might refuse to go back to being Beast Boy.

"Same thing, basically, with Terra. Right now, she's not showing any signs of her abilities being there. We know she had a terrible time adjusting to her powers the first time around, and, to some degree, after her rebirth as well. But, at least that time, she had all of us to help her adjust.

"Nightwing's still talking in Romanian, so, how do we tell him his parents are dead?"

Edward sighed, "Not just him, but, Garfield as well. I suppose that duty falls on my shoulders, though."

"You sure?" Cyborg asked, recalling that Edward hated to give a death notification.

"I'm sure," Edward grumbled, "I can't ask people to do something if I'm not willing to do it…even if I hate the particular duty."

"Considering that you're the temporary leader of what's left of the team…" Cyborg started to say, but, Edward cut across him.

"Forgive me, Vic," he said, "You've been the second-in-command of the team since its inception. That means that while I'm flattered, you're the rightful leader."

"It's OK," Cyborg said.

"You're not getting it, chrome dome!" Edward snarled, "The other Titans that are coming will readily accept that you're the interim leader. I've got my hands full with the rest of the core team as CHILDREN!"

He took a deep breath, "Sorry, Victor. This situation has thrown all of us. I do love kids dearly, and, these kids will see that side of me. But, if this becomes a long term thing, I will eventually have to face down uncaring bureaucrats from Children services."

His face darkened, "I won't let them take Raven…They'll have to try to kill me first and I won't be responsible if they bring out my draconic instincts."

"It won't come to that, man," Cyborg said, "I've got your back. And, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be trying to pass full leadership on to you when you're going to be head nanny."

"Makes me wish that Mother Mae-eye was friendlier," Edward said, "But, just from what you told me, that's not an option. Looks like its Arella and I on kiddie duty."

There was another knock on the door and Edward said, "It's open!"

J'onn phased through the door and said, "Greetings. I have some news."

Edward replied, "Good news or bad news?"

"Both," J'onn said.

"Let's hear it," Edward said.

"The good news is that I've scanned the children and they all have their adult memories. The bad news is that if I tried to unlock them now, it would overwhelm their minds. Their memories would have to be incorporated slowly. But, there's more. If they end up having to return to their rightful ages naturally, those original memories may be overwritten and lost."

Edward swore then, "Just my freaking luck. The team is screwed, then, if they are stuck like this and have to grow up all over again. It means that Raven will never know she's my wife!"

"Not necessarily, Edward," Cyborg said, "When she was reverted the first time, she eventually remembered everything on her own when Robin told her her own story. That enabled her to reach deep down and restore her own powers and her rightful adult form."

J'onn looked deep in thought, "That might work again, then. If we can get her to remember who she truly is meant to be, she might be able to reverse the spell if Zatanna can't."

Edward looked deep in thought for a few long minutes before saying, "Get Arella. We need to talk first. There's an ethical question here that requires her input."

J'onn phased through the door and a few moments later, Arella was knocking and being bid to enter.

"Please, have a seat," Edward said. Arella did and Edward said, "We've got a problem, Arella. That's pretty obvious with most of the core group, including Raven, as kids.

"But, there's an ethical issue here that involves you. You see it, in a way, I hope. I know that you're overjoyed at the prospect of being given a second chance to raise Rachel the way you could have if Trigon wasn't her father. Not every parent gets this sort of an opportunity. J'onn says, though, that the affected Titans still have their adult memories, but, they are locked away. Raven's already been reverted to a child before and she was able to recover her memories. That's the only reason why we're able to talk about this instead of being tasty snacks for Trigon.

"We can try to help Raven recover her adult memories and in doing so, she might be able to undo the spell and return everyone to normal.

"There's also a major danger here. If the kids have to grow up all over again, their current adult memories will be destroyed and non-recoverable. It means that some team members will lose their powers forever: Namely Beast Boy and Terra as it's obvious that their DNA is its pre-altered state.

"It also means that our wedding is nullified. She won't remember it and right now, legally, it doesn't exist. I'm trying to set that aside as best I can."

He sighed and that gave Arella an opening.

"It's OK, Edward," she replied, "Yes, I've been given an opportunity to right several wrongs, but, I can do that that with Rachel as an adult as well as a child. I already paid the penalty for my mistakes that led to her birth, and, well, Rachel did forgive me. It would be selfish of me to deny your love for her and to stand in the way of trying to help the rest of the team recover.

"You have my blessing to do what you need to do."

The look of relief was visible on Edward's face. Arella had seen the problem and relied on her teachings under the monks of Azarath to allow her to set aside her own feelings.

Arella took Edward's hands in hers, lending him her support and strength. It wasn't missed by Cyborg and J'onn. It was a mother's support there.

"Bring the team back," she said before getting up.

"I will, Arella," Edward said.

* * *

_One ethical problem solved by a caring Arella. But, this still has a ways to go before I call it finished. The souls of Azarath are no longer in limbo, either. All in all, a good chapter._

_I'm pretty sure several saw the good news in my profile. But for others, my efforts to help Tara Strong win that Shorty Award were successful as she did win the award. But, it was...for whatever reason...declared a tie with Selena Gomez. I'm still unhappy about that but, I'm not going to bore you with why I'm ticked still._

_Also, a possible heads' up here: I may be relocating once more! I don't want to get into too many details, just yet, as nothing's fully set in stone here. When I get more details firmed up in a month or so, I'll post that in my profile as I try to update that often._

_Terra's Story = suspended for now due to the lack of the muse's input. (I do have some ideas, though...)_

_Honeymoon in Hawaii = may get some re-writes._

_TTFN_


	4. Reinforcements arrive

**Chapter 4  
[9 PM – Titan Tower Ops center]**

Edward had gotten most of the Tiny Titans settled in for the night. Each one had their original rooms, of course. But, for the first night, he put Richard in his room. Edward needed to do something that, had Nightwing been an adult, would have "objected to". Edward had to re-arrange the room to remove all references to his crime-fighting life. He'd do that in the morning, though. He was expecting at least David to arrive later on.

The exception was Starfire. She wanted to talk to Galfore and Edward had to pave the way first, that would take some time, though to accomplish, but, as soon as he was done coordinating various things with the replacement Titans and the Justice League, that was next on the aganda

He sat down with Cyborg, Arella and their guests from the Justice League: J'onn, Zatanna, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. The latter two were being briefed in on the problem and reintroduced to the team. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, for their parts, didn't show any surprise at the development. They were a little surprised when Richard was only speaking Romanian, luckily, Edward was translating as they talked. Edward then got them settled in for the night (He did, of course, fix something simple for dinner: Pizza.)

"How are you going to explain to him that his parents are gone?" Green Lantern asked.

"Very carefully, Lantern," Edward said, "Same with Beast Boy. That's tomorrow as well. J'onn, when I tell them, you need to shield yourself."

"I will keep that in mind," J'onn said.

"Let's get the patrols taken care of," Hawkgirl suggested.

"Right," Edward said, "Computer, display a map of Jump City on the main screen, please."

A moment later, the map of the city came up.

"Display the normal sectors, please," Edward said, "highlight known hot spots for criminal activity."

A gridded pattern came up with the known hot spots based on police reports and Nightwing's last inputted data. Cyborg would be handling the updates to that until further notice.

"Nightwing was wanting to put some extra eyes on Sector 7G, 8A and 19B," Cyborg said, "There's been an uptick in gang activity there in the last month. I would suggest that those areas be given a priority."

"Agreed," a new voice said. Everyone looked to see David standing there.

Edward smiled and got up. There was no pretenses as father and son hugged.

"How long you been here, son?" Edward asked, "Ahh, no matter. I'm glad you could come to help your old man out."

David chuckled, "I teleported in a few minutes ago. Cyborg gave me a code to enter the Tower."

"He's an honorary Titan," Cyborg reminded Edward.

"I figured that out, Metal Head," Edward said, chuckling.

"What other hot spots are there that need patrolled?" David asked. The AI obliged the request and other lower priority areas came up.

David scanned it and suggested, "I'd have Lantern hit 7G, Hawkgirl, would you mind taking 8A? I'll take 19B. Pop, you up for patrolling, it might clear your mind some? What about you Cy?"

"One of the other adults should stay to back up Arella," Cyborg said, "The kids are interested in my implants and I can talk to Ni…Eh, Richard."

Edward sighed, "Son, what I am about to tell you, never leaves the Tower. You know why."

David nodded, "Pop, the word of a Barnes is his bond. You, Mom and my namesake taught me that. What is said here, stays here."

"Computer, display the Titans on the main screen, as they looked 24 hours ago," Cyborg said. The computer complied, showing the team as adults.

"Remove me," Edward said. His picture disappeared and the others moved to cover the black space.

"OK," Edward said, "I know that this is usually not allowed and go against not only Titans rules, but, the Justice League. I'll give anyone a chance to object, though."

Edward waited for several seconds, but, no one objected.

"Fine," Edward said, "It's not easy for me to betray my friend's secret identities and, well, I will assume all responsibility should this mishap be undoable. Agreed?"

There were nods all around.

"First, we have Nightwing here, David. But, for now, use Richard. That's his birth name. Richard John Grayson, to be precise. His folks were murdered when he was young. However, at his current age, he is unaware that his parents are dead.

"This pretty young woman, you know as Terra. She's been reverted to about 8 years old. Her real name is Tara Markov…a royal princess of Markovia.

"Then, you know Raven and her real name as Rachel Roth.

"Starfire is a loose translation of Koriand'r in English. Sometimes, she'll go by Kori Anders in public, but, everyone knows this in public, anyway.

"David, Beast Boy was reverted to the point he's a normal looking kid. He's Garfield Logan.

"Finally, there's Jericho. Now, he's Joey Wilson and, yes, the son of Slade Wilson. As you see, he's wearing a turtleneck. That's to hide a healed knife wound. Slade allowed Joey to be injured when he was 10 years old. He will not be sporting that injury and is able to talk again. In this picture, the knife had severed the nerve that allows for talking and it was not able to be regenerated. He's mute."

By then, Kole and Gnarrk had come in.

"You betrayed the Titans!" she said in anger.

"Kole," Edward said, "I would never betray the Titans to our enemies. These other folks are members of the Justice League: J'onn Jonn'z, Zatanna, Green Lantern, and Shayera Hol, better known as Hawkgirl. Friends, this is Kole and her friend, Gnarrk. We're all friends here."

Edward reached out to Kole and said, "We're all on the same side. I had to divulge names because the Titans are not Titans anymore. They're kids without powers, without their identities. Well, Rae and Starfire still have their powers, but, the others don't. We're playing this by ear, but, the kids don't know they are superheroes. Hence why I had to tell David and the others the Titans' true names."

Kole sighed, "You're right, Edward. I'm sorry."

Edward hugged Kole and said, "Nothing to be apologetic for, dear Kole. If things can be returned to normal, nothing need be said about this. I loathe asking for this to be covered up, but, it's for the good of the team in the long run. The Justice League folks will attest to that."

The lights in the Tower turned red and started flashing as the monitor highlighted a section of the city.

"It's Mammoth," Cyborg said, "The reports are confusing, though, but, we best handle it."

Edward thought for a moment and said, "Cyborg, GL, Hawkgirl and I will go. David, Kole, Arella and Gnaark will stay here. Hopefully the other Titans will stay sleeping while we're gone. J'onn and Zatanna are on stand-by, though."

"Sounds like a plan," Green Lantern said, "Let's roll."

"To the roof, then," Edward said as they headed for the elevator. 30 seconds later, they were on the roof and on Edward's back.

"I know the area we're teleporting to," he said. He headed for the edge of the building and after attaining flight, he teleported.

Sure enough, as soon as they emerged from the teleport, Mammoth was stalking down the street, casually throwing cars out of the way.

"Ok, big fella," Edward growled, "Let's cut to the chase. The locals aren't going to like you tossing their rides like Lego blocks."

Mammoth responded by throwing one of those cars in Edward's direction, only to see it caught by an emerald green hard light construct and set down.

"You heard the dragon," Green Lantern said, "Time to stop."

"Titans, GO!" Cyborg said.

Green Lantern and Hawkgirl took to the air as Cyborg charged his cannon and slid down to the ground.

"I'll beat all of you," Mammoth snarled.

"Dude," Edward said, "I've had a long day…a real long day. Don't give me an excuse to knock you into next week."

"Where's your little wifey?" Mammoth said, not realizing he was about to make a huge mistake, "Is she waiting for her big bad Draggie-Boy to light her fire?"

"Now you did it," Green Lantern said as Edward's eyes went red and his scales started a slow change in their colors.

His spinal ridges started glowing a bright white and he let out a roar that shattered windows for at least a quarter mile.

Mammoth looked at the raw power about to be unleashed and started to back away.

Edward looked at Mammoth and before he could react, Edward's tail whipped around, striking the HIVE member and throwing the brute towards Cyborg, who blasted him with the cannon before hitting a nasty uppercut that sent him towards Hawkgirl who sent him towards Green Lantern who encased Mammoth in a hard light cage.

But, even that didn't stop Mammoth. The super strong Mammoth was able to overcome the force of Green Lantern's will and broke through the construct.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lantern muttered.

By then, Edward scales had settled to their normal brown hue and he quipped, "Last one to put Mammoth on the ground for the count buys breakfast."

"Mammoth put you on ground," the enemy snarled and picked up a truck, then, throwing it at the biggest target: Edward.

Edward caught the vehicle and was knocked back about 20 yards as well.

Edward was wishing for Terra right about then, but, he'd handled bigger foes without her help. His ridges glowed blue as Edward fired off his ice breath, encasing Mammoth in several feet of ice.

Green Lantern used his ring to create another construct as Mammoth shattered the ice.

Edward's eyes returned to their red glow and said, "You just don't get it, do you? This time, when I knock you down…STAY THERE! GL, Hawkgirl and Cyborg, he moves when I knock him down…take him down."

Mammoth said, "Mammoth not interested in them. Mammoth wants you!"

Edward's spine lit up white once more. And as Mammoth charged, the resulting lightning attack coursed through Mammoth. He stiffened up and as soon as Edward cut the power, Mammoth fell with a groan. He struggled to his feet, only to collapse again. This time, he wasn't getting up for a while and would wake in the jailhouse.

"You OK, dawg?" Cyborg asked.

Edward nodded, "I'm fine. Nice teamwork, guys. But, we still have to get this lunkhead back to jail."

That would be relatively easy, though as the JCPD showed up and were surprised to see the Justice League and the Titans joining forces.

"Gentlemen," Edward said, "How nice of you to show up this time. Before you ask, the other Titans are unavailable, so, the Justice League is helping."

The lead officer said, "What do you mean, 'This time?'"

"We could have used you earlier when Mad Mod and Mumbo were running amok," Cyborg said, not wanting there to be a fight between Edward and the PD.

The incident commander replied, "Odd. If it happened in town, we should have rolled on the call right away. But, I don't recall any reports from the last shift."

Edward walked over to the cop after morphing back to his human form and said, "You're kidding me…No one called anything in about 10 AM this morning?"

The cop replied, "I'm afraid not, but, I can check into that for you, though."

"Please do that," Green Lantern said, "It's vital that we know."

Fortunately for the police, Edward wasn't going to pick a fight. If he ended up arrested, it would suck.

He nodded, "That'll have to work, I guess."

Green Lantern moved the still out cold Mammoth to the paddy wagon and the police took him to central booking after being assured that he was just stunned.

Before they could leave, Edward got hit with a sudden rush of emotions through the link and let out a snarl for a moment.

In his mind's eye, he saw Raven, as an adult, being chased by Trigon again. In her mind, Trigon wasn't dead so, he was chasing her.

Edward's eyes glowed yellow as he started to insert himself into the dream. He didn't want to do that, but, there was little choice.

[Rachel,] he called out, [It's Edward. You're having a bad dream, let me in to help.]

[Please, make daddy stop!] she wailed.

[You're going to be OK,] he tried to reassure her.

[She will fulfill her destiny!] Trigon said, [Leave my daughter alone.]

[Dude…Fathers are kind. Fathers protect their children, Fathers raise their children. Rachel was protected by the Monks of Azarath, she was raised by her friends. Earth is our home, this is her mind, and, you ARE NOT WELCOME HERE! Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!]

He saw Raven turning around and as Edward chanted her mantra, she repeated it and hit Trigon with a blast of pure white power, banishing him again from her mind.

He then saw what he hoped were her memories flooding back. She'd have to have time to process them anyway.

His communicator chirped madly, breaking him out of the trance.

"Edward here," he said.

"Pop!" David said, "Something happened in Raven's room. From what I could tell, she was having a nightmare of some sort. Arella is trying to get in, but, she can't."

"I'm aware of the nightmare, son," Edward replied, "I had a ringside seat. She'll be fine. Ask J'onn to phase through the door enough to see what's happening, please."

"J'onn already did. He wants you back ASAP," David said.

"I'll be back in 30 seconds or so," Edward said and signed off. He formed his mini-dragon and the others took the cue and got on.

Right on cue, he teleported back to the tower.

When he got there, he was greeted by a concerned David and J'onn on the roof.

"What's wrong?" he asked as the others got down.

"I was unable to gain access to her room, Pop," David said, "There's some sort of block there."

"You're going to want to see this," J'onn said, "I was able to phase through and her room is covered in a black aura.

"It appears that her powers are returning."

Edward shrank to his shoulder sized Dragon form and said, "I'll try to teleport in, then."

He gave it a shot, but, in mid-teleport, even though he had the destination pictured, he ended up outside her room.

"OK," he muttered, "This is new. Computer, unseal the door to Raven's room, Authorization Barnes Gamma 711, enable."

The door hissed open slowly. Edward, as soon as his hand could get in there, gently pushed to force the door open wider without breaking it.

Sure enough, Raven's powers were back and from what he could see, she was awake and very frightened.

"Rachel," Edward called out to her, "It's going to be OK. You had a bad dream, that's all. Your father cannot harm you here."

"A dream?" she asked, visibly crying and shaking.

"Yes, sweetheart. Just a dream," he said, "Please, may I come in?"

By then, Arella had returned and said, "It's Mommy. Please, let us in to help."

Rachel started to relax and that allowed her powers to settle down, finally allowing Edward and Arella in.

Rachel ran to her mom and Edward's jaw dropped! Raven looked to be closer to 10 years old! She had aged while she slept!

She looked at Edward and shook her head, as if to clear it.

"I remember you," she said, "You're more than a friend, aren't you?"

Edward wiped a happy tear and said, "We are, Rachel. Sweetheart, I don't know how to say this gently, but, you're closer to 21 instead of 10. Someone cast a spell and it went very badly."

Rachel's face scrunched up as her control faltered again. Edward pulled her into a hug. She stiffened up, though, and said, "I'm so confused…I'm scared. I remember things about us, but, it's like I'm older."

Edward said, "I know, Rachel. You have two sets of memories that have to come back into being just one. I have a friend who can help?"

"Who is that?" she asked.

[J'onn? Can you come to Raven's room, please? She's remembering stuff and seems to be having a hard time assimilating them.]

J'onn replied, [On my way.]

A few moments later, J'onn came in and said aloud, "Hi, Rachel."

She looked at J'onn and said, "Can you help me?"

"I believe I can," J'onn said with a smile and gently touched her face.

It took several long minutes but, eventually, he withdrew his hand. Rachel collapsed…Or would have had Arella not caught her and placed her back into bed.

"She will be fine," J'onn intoned, "Her demon side is willing to help her human side recover. It seems that she has some resistance after all and that will be a factor in her recovery. Her memories are all there, but, she needs a few hours to properly assimilate than as you figured. Zatanna will be glad to know this as well."

By then, the rest of the allied teams were there and seeing the larger Rachel.

[Where am I?] she asked via the link.

[Rachel?] he asked.

[It's Raven,] she replied, [Edward?]

Edward smiled broadly.

"She just corrected me in the link!" he said, tears of joy running unchecked.

"As in calling her Raven?" Cyborg asked.

Edward nodded, unable to speak aloud.

Cyborg pumped a fist and said, "Booya!"

[Yes, Raven] he replied, [It's me. Are you OK?]

[I'm stuck in a 10 year old body,] she replied sarcastically, [How do you think I feel?]

[Sorry, dearest. Do you remember everything?] he asked.

[Things are still fuzzy, my love,] she replied, [But, yes, I am starting to remember.]

Edward was the happiest he'd been all day. At least Raven was starting to recover, and, to him, that was the important thing.

* * *

_Hi, everyone!_

_OK, this one's in the bag. I'm starting to bust through the writer's block with these three stories._

_I want to take a moment though to give a shout-out to someone who is going to be helping with the Terra backstory. This person's a pretty cool gal I stumbled onto on Twitter a few months ago and role plays as a reformed Terra there as " terra_101". But, here, she's known as shelgirl92. You twitter users...Follow her!_

_Nothing against my arizonahawk711, though...She's been helpful as well with reviews and what-not...and, that's not going to change, I hope._

_While Raven's recovering faster, the others will not be, so, I will probably be devoting chapters to each one of the pre-Teen Titans._

_TTFN!_


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